This course is geared toward students who have already completed at least one basic, introductory course of study on World War II.  This course will take a deep dive into the second World War, with students expected to analyze primary source documents, discuss the why's of the war, and look into the political factors that influenced the military decisions of this time period.  
This course will provide students with a short summary of significant battles, but more time will be spent examining why the battles happened, what strategies were utilized, and what life was like for people who fought during World War II.  
In short, instead of examining what and where the battles were, we will be examining who fought in them, why they were fought, and how they were fought.
The schedule for this class is as follows:

Week 1: US Foreign Policy in the Wake of World War I
Week 2: Lend Lease, US-Japan Foreign Relations, 
Week 3: Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, The Philippines 
Week 4: Midway and the Solomon Islands
Week 5: Submarine Warfare and the Battle of the Atlantic
Week 6: Strategic Conferences of World War II
Week 7: The Marshall Islands, The Marianas Islands
Week 8: World War II on the Homefront 
Week 9:  Invasion of Sicily and Italy in World War II
Week 10: D-Day and the Race to Germany  
Week 11: Leyte Gulf and Peleliu
Week 13: The Philippines, Battle of the Bulge 
Week 13: Peace Among Men
Week 14: Student Presentations

Each of the first 13 class periods will be organized as follows:
5 Minutes: Intro to Weekly Topics
5 Minutes: Life on the Homefront
25 Minutes: Instructor Lecture on Weekly Topics, with presentation as well as 1-2 short complementary videos or activities
5 Minutes: News Briefs from the Era
5 Minutes: Presentation Check-in/Discussion

Each student is expected to complete one 5-10 minute presentation (length will be determined based on enrollments) on a World War II topic of their choice.  The last five minutes of each class period will be devoted to helping students select a topic, obtain primary sources, and answering questions relevant to each student's independent research.  In Week 14 of class, students will present their topics to classmates.